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W. 1. MORRIS. RAILWAY DRAFT GEAR. APPLlcAUoN FILED 1AN.I9,1916.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

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31a/muto@ STATES PATEN WILLIM JESSE MORRIS, OF RECTOR, ARKANSAS.

RAILWAY DRAFT-eem.

speemeazion or Letters igiene Patented Aug. 1, 193.6.

Applicatioirled Januaryll, 1916. Serial No. 73,00%).y

useful' 4Improvements Rail-Weyl?Dl'efft' Gears, of which the followiii i's'fes`pL ,oifiee.1--'r tion, reference being had toV eiiec'mpanyin drawings. y I."

his invention relates to air-improved railway draft. gear and has for its primary object te provide a draft geerbt rigging which is so constructed tha should any gert of the gear he accidentally broken, Lire or coaches will be automatically nneenpled,

thus obviating possibility ofdainege to the.

cars and injury lto the passengers;

it is another and more particuleryobject of theinvention to provide a railway draft gear embodying a. draft head, draft liars and means connecting the same to the head, e 'guide plate for the draft head suspended from the car sills and preventing the displacement oi' the connecting means, a central gear box or frame, and cushioning means for the draft bars arranged ibs/rein, seid draft head moving longitudinally when the draw liar er gear bex is broken so that the connecting means between the bar and head will be disposed et one side of the guide plate and will fall ny gravity, thus disconnecting the ber and head from other.

It is en additional object of the invention to provide a draft rigging orgeer which is simple and durable in its construction and .may be readily applied to railroad ears coaches at nominal cost and Without necessitating any materiel alterations therein.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features vof construction, combination and etrangen nient of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the :11% companying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the preferred embodiment of my improved draft gear, one of thedraw bars and heads being shown in section; Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view; and Fig` 3 is e trans verse section taken on the line 3-2; of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 5 designari/e8 the car which is provided wit-n 55. spaci longitudinally extending sills d.

The draw heed 7 orni-ed on ille rear end of coupliilgjfinember 8 which ens- "pende'dgfrorn t iclmins', indicated at 9. This draw head is "e end-.of the ycer body by f rectangular-form- On the tap or their@ diiiw'head, an abutment' 'l0 is formed for bearmg engagement-against the transverse end bar of the car frame.

11 designates the elongated gear bex which is centrally disposed between the per ailel sills 6. This box is provided willi de' techable top and bottom plates l2 formed upon tneir ends with the engelen: 5mg which are provided npenings te the connecting or clamping nuits il: exif ing vertienliy eeress rire ends of the nl Each ofthe end walls or' the box is provided with a reeznngular ripening through Wliieli'tlie movable drew ber extends. One end of tins draw bar enlerged, as shown' ntle, and dts witliiiif. draw heed Y, the said enlarged end of im. bar being provided a tapering open ing 17 which coincides with similar open ings 1S provided in the top and entrera wells of the draw heed. ".lhe ope'ni .3); i7 and 1.8 receive a. fuiste-conical 19 which is inserted upwardly tlirnngii said openings.

2O desi ates a. guide or supporting plate upon whleh the 'draw head moves. This plete suspended by vertical rods or lie-its cennect-ed te the corners lfiereo, from sill liars 6.

A Washer plate :22 of reeiengular fer arranged 'upon enel. of the draw nrw 'within each end of the geni* box ll., washer plete is provided upon one fef parallel flanges ior engagern grooves or channels cnt in the inner the end wall of the gear bon. pen 'li. draw bar 15, a coil spring 124 is arranged el i this sprin is surrounded by e, relai-iwi); large coil spring 25. These springs .be their outer ends against the washer n sind at their inner ends against a pifv on the end of the draw bar. A nu threaded ulien the end of the drew leer key 28 is engaged through z in the end of the draw 'Der to retain elle mi: in place thereon. The gear box 1l snp-- ported by e transverse liar or plaie 29 which is suspended from the sills 6 the verizcei rods ver bolts 30. i

From the above description, taken in eennection with the aecempenyin drawing, constrnction\a,nd manner opere'ien ei @he invention will be fully understood. `Normally, the abutment lugs 10 bear against the ends of the car or coach and prevent the inthe device, the draw heads of the several cars in the train will remain positively connected to each other. Should one of the draw bars break or become disengaged from the gear box from any cause, the forward car will pull ahead and move the draw head connected to the neXt car in the rear forwardly, so that the plug 19 will be disA posed inadvance of the plate 2Q. 'This plug which is constructed of solid metal, will drop downwardly through the openings 17 and 18 and thus disconnect the draw bar from the draw head and permit the cars to separate. In this manner, all liability of damage to the cars or injury to the passengers is obviated in the event of breakage of the draft gear or rigging.

The invention, as illustrated, consists of i few elements of simple form which are re- 'liable and positive in their action.

It is apparent that the device is not limited to the particular form or construction of the gear box, draw bar or draw head as shown, and that the principle employed may also be utilized in connection with various other constructions of these parts.

The invention is also susceptible of a great many modifications in the form, proportion and arrangement of its detail structural features, and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied Within the spirit and vscope of the invention as claimed. Y

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is A railway draft gear including a gear box and draw head, a draw bar yieldably connected at one end to the gea'r box, a plate suspended upon the car from which the draw head is slidably supported, said draw bar and head having coinciding tapering openings, aconical-shaped pin adapted to be inserted upwardly through said openings and normally held against displacement by said guide plate, said pin being moved with relation t0 said plate upon an excessive movement of the draw head whereby the pin may gravitate downwardly and disconnect the draw bar from the draw head.

Intestimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

wiLLiAM JESSE MORRIS..

Vitnesses:

J. C. Royans, R. STUART. 

